Dish Network Says Rising Channel Costs Will Drive January Price Hike

The No. 2 satellite company hasn’t raised consumer prices since February 2011 following CEO Joseph Clayton‘s commitment that year to freeze consumer prices to January 2013. So rates probably would be rising now no matter what. But the steep jump in programming costs no doubt factored in to the increases that will hit most of Dish‘s 14M customers beginning January 17. The top-of-the-line America’s Everything Pak (which includes HBO, Showtime, and Starz) will rise $15 to $119.99 a month. Subscribers with the lowest-priced service, Smart Pack, will pay $29.99, up $5. Those with other packages also will pay an additional $5 a month. Dish is holding the line on the $10 service fee for its Slingloaded VIP 922 as well as the Hopper DVR and the $7 charge for the remote boxes it serves. Service prices will increase by $1 to $7 a month for the other VIP DVRs. “Programming costs are rising year over year — the industry has seen increases in the double digit percentages — which means consumers are having to pay higher prices for their programming packages,” Dish says. Clayton vowed in August 2011 to freeze prices until now as part of a strategy to focus on up-selling customers to more expensive services. “We might get them in the door with a low price,” he told analysts. “But it is our selling philosophy to move the customer up into better margins, more attractive prices and margins.”